[382] The Duke of York had been compelled to resign this post in 1809, owing to the scandalous charges brought against him by Mrs. Clarke.
[383] See Further Memoirs of the Whig Party, p. 39.
[384] Grenville.
[385] Lord William Cavendish Bentinck (1774–1839), second son of William Henry, third Duke of Portland, who saw much service in various parts of the world and rose to the rank of major-general in 1808. He was appointed Envoy and Commander-in-Chief in Sicily in 1811, and for three years was practically governor of the island. His sudden departure, after a stay of only ten days, had the desired effect of alarming the Sicilian Court, which became much more amenable, after his return, to the reforms he proposed to introduce. The King was notoriously incapable of reigning, and the power was in the hands of the Queen, who detested the English, and was intriguing with the French.
[386] They were imprisoned for a protest against the illegal taxation which was being enforced by the Court, but were released and recalled in January 1812.
[387] Hon. Frederick James Lamb (1782–1853), who was created Lord Beauvale in 1839, and succeeded his brother as third and last Viscount Melbourne in 1848.
[388] Afterwards Admiral Sir George Cockburn (1772–1853). He took Napoleon to St. Helena in 1815, and remained there for a year as Governor until relieved by Sir Hudson Lowe.
The Commission was to attempt to mediate between Spain and her American Colonies. The Cortes, however, proved intractable, and the expedition returned to England in August 1812.
[389] See ante, i. 130.
Transcriber’s Notes:
1. Obvious printers’, punctuation and spelling errors have been corrected silently.
2. Where hyphenation is in doubt, it has been retained as in the original.
3. Some hyphenated and non-hyphenated versions of the same words have been retained as in the original.